Blood Red Moon
by Jukka Canola
Summary: On a way to a reunion in Meltokio, Regal discovers an attempted murder and a boy with a long story and in need of help.


I don't own any of the characters or places in the story…that's Namco.

hm.. not good at intros. Oh well. Here goes.

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Regal walked along silently, following the coastline near the Grand Tethealla Bridge. It had been one year since him and his friends had reunited the world. As of now, things seemed perfect. He had kept in touch with his friends, and was heading to a type of reunion with them in Meltokio. The world was slowly putting it back self together too, towns were being rebuilt, and half-elves were even becoming more accepted each day. And a personal good thing for Regal; his handcuffs were finally removed.

He smiled to himself at the thought of all this as he approached the bridge, and began the long walk across. There didn't seem to be too much traffic on it today, it was raining and he figured most would prefer to stay indoors. From a distance, he saw the bridge rise to let a boat pass. It was only one boat, and wouldn't take long to pass through so Regal kept walking, figuring it would be down again by the time he reached it. 

As he came up to the raised section, the boat was about half way through. He went to the edge and leaned his back against it, waiting for the boat to pass through. There were three people opposite him, but he could barely make them out, the rain was intense and visibility was quite bad. He could hear the voices over the sound of the pouring rain though.

"No one is looking! Hurry!" A man with a deep voice said. He seemed very anxious, and seemed to be pacing. They wanted something to stay a secret, and they had obviously not seen Regal leaning against the rail opposite them. 

"Yes." Another man with a deep, confident voice said. He grabbed the third person, who was smaller than the others, and dangled him over the edge of the bridge. Regal began to wonder if the rain was only making it look like that, or if it was all real. He snuck closer to them as they were both turned around, looking down at the boy they were dangling. 

The boy looked like he was around the ages of 14 or 15, and had shoulder length black hair. He was wearing a long black coat the reached his knees, along with a black shirt and black baggy pants. There were also three spears securely strapped to his back. He was looking up at the other two men with an angry glare. All of a sudden, the boy disappeared from Regal's sight. They had dropped him. There was a loud splash of water, and the two men turned around as the bridge reformed. It was only then that they saw Regal, staring at them.

"He saw us!" The first man said, in a now more angry tone than anxious.   
"I thought you said nobody was looking!" The second man said.  
"It was hard to se-"  
"Oh shut up! Get him!"

Regal's heart pounded, they were both running for him. The second man approached him first, and unveiled a knife from under his coat. He ran towards Regal. When he reached him, Regal kicked the knife from his hands. It went flying on the ground towards the first man, who grabbed it and charged at Regal while him and the second man were in an intense fist fight.

_These hands shall never be used as tools of death again…_

Those words ran through Regal's mind as he continued the fight, parrying a kick from the second man. 

"Crescent Dark Moon!" Regal exploded in a fury of roundhouse kicks to the face, and final one powerful upward kick. The second man landed with a thud on the metal of the bridge, unconscious. 

Regal now ran towards a support pillar on the bridge as the first man with the knife ran towards him. About half way up the pillar, Regal jumped off, directly above the man. "Eagle..Rage!" Regal crushed down onto the mans shoulders, but with not enough force to kill him. The knife landed with a clanking sound on the floor of the bridge, and Regal threw it into the sea. Then he ran over to the side of the bridge where the boy had been dropped. 

The black haired boy was sitting on a rock in the middle of the sea, hanging on to it with all his might. He looked up as Regal's head popped out from the side of the bridge.

"Hold on! I'll get help." Regal yelled down to him, not sure if he heard. The wind was whipping and was carrying his voice a different way, and the rain was still pounding. He found a life ring with a rope attached. It was inside a glass case. He kicked the glass, and got the ring out, and threw it down towards the boy.

"Grab on!" The boy grabbed onto the ring, and Regal slowly began pulling him up. When he reached the top, he grabbed the boy and dragged up onto the bridge. He was soaking wet, and had a few cuts on his face. 

"Who are you?" Regal asked the boy, who was lying on the floor of the bridge, spitting out some rain water.

"My name is Jukka Canola. I couldn't find them…but I did..and they almost got me…and now…they're gone."

The boy passed out right there. Regal picked him up, and began running off to Zelos' mansion in Meltokio with the boy.


End file.
